SOOK: The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security held 5,608 Agro Madani Sales across the country, attracting 2.9 visitors last year.
The Agro Madani Sale involved 74,800 entrepreneurs and generated revenues of RM93.7 million.
Its Deputy Minister, Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, said the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) Sabah held 367 Agro Madani Sales with sales totalling RM5.2 million and involved 3,990 enterprises.
He said as of March 3, Agro Madani Sales had taken place in 1,227 locations across the country, involving 16,242 local entrepreneurs and helped customers save RM7.87 million.
The Pensiangan MP added that as a representative from Sabah’s interiors, he is committed to ensuring that the people in the interiors, both the general public and entrepreneurs, benefit from the Ministry’s projects.
“The Ministry, through its departments and agencies, is committed to planning and implementing various initiatives to address people’s cost of living issues,” he said after officiating the Sook Agro Madani Sales Carnival at the foodcourt parking lot, Sunday.
He said this is the first time Agro Madani Mega Sales is held in the interior of Sabah.
Arthur said this is consistent with the Ministry’s role as the main driver in ensuring that food supplies are always adequate.
He said the Agro Madani Sales is an effort by the Ministry, through Fama, Lembaga Pertubuhan Peladang and Fisheries Development Authority Malaysia (LKIM) to create an integrated quick-win effort focused on savings and lowering people’s living costs.
He said Sook Agro Madani Mega Sales Carnival is the first large-scale Agro Madani Sales event.
“The initiative has attracted the involvement of more than 100 sellers as well as a total of 135 stock-keeping unit products of various types of agro-food products produced locally in Sabah,” he said.
He said the Sook Agro Madani Mega Sales Carnival provides an avenue for farmers and businesses to offer their products directly and indirectly at rates that are 10 to 30 per cent lower than the market price due to the lack of middlemen.
He said with the lower prices and variety of products supplied, the Ministry believes the Sook Agro Madani Mega Sales Carnival will generate RM250,000 in sales revenue and attract 5,000 people throughout the two-day event.
One of the highlights of the Agro Madani Mega Sales Carnival was the Nabawan Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan (PKK) booth, which sold 2,000 10kg rice bags for RM26 each.
